Dropped iPhone X - now “Face ID is not available ...”. Face ID: what is it on iPhone and iPad How face id works on iphone x

One of the main features of the iPhone X was the front-facing TrueDepth camera, which powers Face ID. But it works so-so - to confirm this, we collected 10 face scanner problems.

1.Face ID doesn't work in landscape orientation

Early iPhone X owners note that Face ID doesn't work in landscape orientation. If you intentionally or accidentally turn your smartphone over, you will not be able to unlock it with your face.

This feature makes the face scanner not as convenient solution as the fingerprint sensor, which works in any position of the device in space.

This also makes Face ID in its current form completely unusable for future generations of iPad. Probably, something like this will not appear in tablets until Face ID 2.

2. Face ID needs to see your eyes, nose and mouth

The face scanner, which is powered by the TrueDepth front camera, is powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies.

With the help of them, he is constantly being improved and after a month of use he will recognize you in almost any form - in clothes or without, after a stormy night and with a week of stubble.

However, as practice shows, for Face ID to work, you need to see your eyes, nose, and mouth. For example, if the latter is covered with a scarf, the face scanner simply does not recognize you.

3.Face ID will definitely dazzle bright sunlight

Touch ID does not work with wet or even just damp hands, as well as with gloves in winter. This makes the fingerprint sensor useless in some use cases.

Face ID has similar weaknesses. For example, a face scanner can dazzle bright sunlight striking it at a certain angle.

You can deal with this by changing the angle of the device and the position of your head. Nevertheless, certain difficulties can definitely be associated with this.

4. Face ID does not recognize young children< 12 лет

Not so long ago, a warning about the operation of Face ID appeared on the official Apple website, which is directly related to the safety of using the face scanner.

Surprisingly, TrueDepth today cannot cope with recognizing children under 12 - at this age they are too similar to each other.

Of course, the percentage of iPhone users of this age is unlikely to be very large, but the situation itself looks strange - it turns out that Face ID can literally deceive a child.

5. Face ID doesn't always handle twins

As it turns out, Face ID can be wrong not only with young children, but also with twins. If you have an identical brother or sister, stay away from them.

As the experiences of Western journalists show, technology does not really distinguish between some twins - however, this does not always happen.

The pattern has not yet been identified, but Face ID can distinguish even the most similar ones for our eyes, and confuses others. Most likely, the digital face map is not created in the usual way.

6. Face ID will not save the additional username

While I was still using Touch ID, my iPhone had not only a pair of my fingers, but also my wife's and father's prints - just in case, suddenly what.

With Face ID, such a system will not work with all the desire. The scanner built into the iPhone X can only save one face - this is its main limitation.

However, it doesn't stop you from telling all the people you need to have your iPhone X passcode in case of an emergency. Maybe it's for the best.

7. Face ID really wants to see the look on itself

Western journalists have already noted that Face ID sometimes works strangely. In some cases, it won't fire until it sees your eyes on itself.

They emphasize that sometimes you have to look not even at the screen, but directly at the TrueDepth front camera module. Otherwise, he doesn't want to work.

As a result, it turns out that the iPhone X thinks that its owner is not looking at it, and offers to enter a password. This is insanely annoying.

8. Face ID can be disabled for security

By the way, similarly to Touch ID, Face ID is sometimes disabled for security reasons - in particular, if the scanner failed to recognize you by sight five times in a row.

A similar situation occurs after restarting the iPhone X, remote locking via Find iPhone, and after using the SOS signal.

In addition, the iPhone X will ask you to enter a passcode instead of using Face ID if the smartphone has been locked for 48 hours or the scanner has not been used in the last 4 hours.

9. Face ID and is not needed to protect your data

We already wrote that biometric data protection technologies are not needed to make your iPhone noticeably more secure - no.

They are required for ease of authentication on the device. Entering a password every time is difficult. But putting your finger on is a piece of cake.

However, tricking both Touch ID and Face ID is noticeably easier than a number pad for entering a password. In the first case, a rubber finger mock-up is suitable for this, in the second - a twin.

10. Face ID is much slower than Touch ID

If you compare the speed of Touch ID in the iPhone 8 and Face ID in the iPhone X, it becomes clear that the face scanner is significantly slower than the fingerprint sensor.

And this is not surprising, because until today Touch ID has survived several generations of the iPhone and today it began to work significantly faster and safer.

Of course, in a couple of years Face ID will definitely lose most of its shortcomings, but today it cannot be denied that it certainly has them.

Smartphone manufacturers are constantly trying to figure out how to improve the security of user data. Several years ago, smartphones introduced the ability to unlock the device using fingerprints, and now face unlocking is being actively implemented. Today we will tell you about Face ID and answer questions such as: what is Face ID, why this technology is needed and how to set it up.

What is Face ID on iPhone and iPad

Face ID became available on iPhone X last year and iPad Pro this year. She replaced and represents the unlocking of the device by scanning the face. One glance at the front camera of an iPhone or iPad is enough for Face ID to work and the device is unlocked.

Face ID completely replaces Touch ID, and is used in all situations in which fingerprint scanning was previously used:

• Unlocking the device;
• App Store purchases authorization;
• Apple Pay confirmation;

Face ID is now available on devices such as the iPhone XS Max, iPhone XS, iPhone XR, iPhone X, iPad Pro (12.9-inch, 3rd generation), and iPad Pro (11-inch).

How Face ID works

Face ID isn't a front-facing camera, it's a separate TrueDepth camera system. The sensors project more than 30,000 points onto the face, through which a structural map of the face and an image in the infrared spectrum are compiled. Thus, you can unlock the device even in the dark.

Face ID technology to unlock the device is triggered when you pick up the gadget or unlock it by touching the screen, as well as when receiving notifications. The response time, especially in devices of 2018 (iPhone XS, XS MAX, iPad Pro), is almost instantaneous, but there is still a slight delay. However, when used, it is almost invisible and does not cause discomfort.

Face ID adapts to changes in appearance, be it makeup or unshaven. She will also be able to recognize the owner if he is wearing sunglasses, a scarf, a hat or lenses. Although, if you “registered a face” with a long beard, and decided to shave it off, the iPhone or iPad will ask you to enter a password to verify your identity. If the password is correct, the system will update the data and you will continue to unlock the device as before.

To pay with Apple Pay and Face ID, you need to double-click the side button. The Face ID scanner will launch. After successful completion, touch the device to the terminal to make a payment. As you can see, the process is no different from paying with Touch ID.

How to set up Face ID

You are prompted to set up Touch ID when you turn on your device for the first time. If you have not done so, then go to "Settings" - "Face ID and passcode".

Click Set Up Face ID. Hold the device upright and move your head in a circle. A green circle will show which area is ready and which still needs to be scanned. Click Next and scan the face again.

Which is better than Face ID or Touch ID

Face ID is safer than Touch ID. There are many ways to fake a fingerprint, but faking a face is almost impossible (a photo on paper will not fool Face ID). In addition, if the owner of the device is asleep, and another person tries to bring the device to his face and unlock, then he will fail, because when unlocking the user must have his eyes open (even if there are sunglasses on top).

When we want to use the device, it usually looks at us, and Face ID will automatically recognize the owner. This is more convenient than putting on your finger, which may not work due to being dirty or wet, or simply touching the scanner too badly. And in winter, Face ID easily unlocks the device, and for Touch ID you will have to take off your gloves or enter your password.

The only drawback is that if the device is lying somewhere on the table, your face does not fall into the field of view of the sensors. In this case, Touch ID is more convenient.

As a result, Face ID wins in every respect: safety and convenience, except in rare situations.

More and more people are interested in a development called Face ID, which completely replaced the fingerprint scanner. But will this modification really be a serious competitor to the previous technology? Let's try to find out.

Principle of operation

Face ID technology is a system that can recognize a person by their face. The main function is performed by a small camera located on the display. It works when a person holds his phone in his hand, trying to unlock it and gain access to personal data.

If the person who was initially programmed into the system matches, then the sensor gives a positive answer to the phone. Do not be alarmed if the user's hairstyle or beard suddenly changes its usual look. The iPhone system can handle even this daunting task.

Face ID features

Face ID performs many important tasks that are required to use your smartphone comfortably. In addition to blocking, using the face scanner, you can:

• make payments through popular IPhone online stores;
• give permission for the use of personal data in applications or browsers.

A distinctive feature of Face ID is the limitation on the number of faces. No one except the owner can release the lock.

Error probability

Apple has assured its potential buyers that there is a millionth of a percent chance of a phone unlocking error. With Touch ID, there was 25 times more room for error.

The face recognition system cannot be fooled by printed photographs or face models. All these options for deception were qualitatively provided by the developers when creating the technology.

System features

There are a few things to keep in mind when using Face ID:

• the function will not work in sunlight;
• a child under 12 years old when trying to unlock a smartphone will be rejected from the system;
• it will disconnect if two unsuccessful unlock attempts are made.

In general, the system is doing quite well, but if you draw a conclusion about the work of Face ID, it is worth noting that there are still errors in the work. The percentage of successful actions is 98%, which is a very bad indicator for a company of this level.

Perhaps, an uninterrupted system of protecting the smartphone using Face ID will soon be created, but in the current environment this is almost impossible.

As rumored and leaked, Apple has unveiled facial recognition technology to unlock the new iPhone X.

The technology is similar in principle to the Touch ID function and is called Face ID. She uses a new front-facing camera technology called the TrueDepth Camera System in her work. TrueDepth uses a suite of sensors, cameras and a spot projector to create incredibly detailed 3D maps of your face.

Face ID starts with a simple image of your face and then builds on with a TrueDepth spot projector that discreetly projects over 30,000 dots onto your face, creating and mapping your facial features every time you use the feature.

Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of marketing, explains that a mathematical model of a face uses an image and a point structure, which are passed through neural networks.

This map is improved and supplemented every time you look at your phone. According to Apple's developers, the technology will be able to recognize your face even if you change your hairstyle, wear glasses or a hat.

At the same time, the developers stipulate that the full attention of the user is required for the Face ID function to work correctly. So if you look away or close your eyes, the phone won't unlock. Apple has repeatedly focused on security, and so the development team brought in a team of makeup artists and mask makers from Hollywood to make sure Face ID wasn’t easy to trick.

Those who are skeptical about collecting their face card data can breathe a sigh of relief: just like with Touch ID, your biometric data is not stored (and is not transmitted) anywhere other than your device.

Face ID has several key principles in common with Touch ID. Just like Touch ID creates a 3D model of the bumps on your finger, Face ID creates a 3D map of your face. Thanks to this, the device should be less susceptible to hacking (as in the case of unlocking Samsung using a photo, rather than a real face). However, unlike Touch ID, which requires you to place your finger on the sensor multiple times during setup, FaceID simply needs to scan your face once.

In the case of Touch ID, the level of accuracy was quite high: the probability of unlocking the device with an incorrect fingerprint was 1 in 50,000. But with Face ID, this figure is even higher. According to Philip Schiller, the probability of error is 1 in 1,000,000.

But here Schiller explains that Face ID can confuse you with your relative - a person who has a close genetic relationship with you. So keep your brand new iPhone away from your cunning twin!